Bees irk residents

BUZZ OFF: Queenstown Rd resident Gerry Dillen says 30 hives is too many for a residential area and he wants to see them removed quickly.

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Beekeepers Sara and Dallas Russ are working to remove a large cluster of hives from an Onehunga paddock after complaints from neighbours.

Queenstown Rd resident Gerry Dillen and his wife discovered about 50 hives in a field across the road from their home while walking their dog about six weeks ago.

They soon realised the bees were the source of sticky yellow spots that had been appearing on their windows, cars and washing.

"It affects our quality of life. I don't want to have to keep washing the car to get bee excrement off it," Mr Dillen says.

Another neighbour, who does not want to be named, says he cannot open his windows during warm days because of the number of bees flying around.

His Queenstown Rd property backs on to the big Herd Rd plot which houses the hives.

"If you open the windows the bees fly in," he says.

Mr Dillen is allergic to bees and is concerned he or another vulnerable person will get stung.

He says one neighbouring woman was distraught when bees swarmed on her property. The swarm had to be removed professionally.

There were also reports of a swarm causing the closure of the garden section of a hardware store on Sunday.

Mr Dillen complained to the Auckland Council in early October, saying bylaws allow only one beehive to be kept on an urban property unless the consent of an officer has been arranged.

The bylaw also says hives are not to be sited in a way that will cause a nuisance to any person.

Beekeeper Mrs Russ says she was not aware of the disgruntled residents until she went to introduce herself earlier this month.

"I went around to a few of the neighbours to give them some honey and explain that it was swarming season, and not to be alarmed if they saw swarms," she says.

"That's when I realised people were unhappy."

Mrs Russ and her husband rent the Herd Rd plot from KiwiRail.

"We are always looking for places to put hives and KiwiRail put their hands up and let us lease the land.

"We thought that would be a good spot because it had coverage from the trees. We didn't think it would cause a problem."

They say when they realised the dilemma they swiftly removed about 20 of the hives in an act of good faith. They say they had not originally intended to put so many hives in one spot but extenuating circumstances meant they had to place all 50 on to the property.

Mrs Russ teaches in-school bee education and is clearly passionate about the role bees play in the ecosystem - pollinating trees and plants in local gardens.